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McCreary County Board starts sealed-bid process for Smithtown property cleanup
Summary
At its Sept. 23 meeting the McCreary County Board of Education voted to begin a sealed-bid procurement for demolition, asbestos abatement and burial at the Smithtown property after staff reported liability and cost estimates.
The McCreary County Board of Education voted at its Sept. 23, 2025 regular meeting to open a sealed-bid process for demolition, asbestos remediation and burial at the Smithtown property.
Superintendent Taylor told the board the property has been discussed “on and off for years” and that the district’s insurer views the site as a liability in its current condition. Taylor said the district obtained three ballpark estimates for cleanup and demolition that “range from 20 something thousand up to 80 something thousand” and described work that would include hauling debris, removing hazardous material per the asbestos report, and burying specified materials on site. “If you all want to do that, I just need your go ahead and then we can actually advertise for we do a RFP, for services cleanup services and burial, demolition and burial,” Taylor said.
Board members moved and seconded a motion to start the sealed-bid procurement for demolition and cleanup; members present voted to approve the motion. Taylor said the district had consulted an asbestos assessor and that certain materials could be handled on site with proper procedures; he said the district would advertise, accept sealed bids and return any received proposals to the board for approval. He also said the district would retain the option to reject all bids.
Taylor said leaving the property as-is posed a risk of trespassers and potential claims against the district, and that the board had previously considered selling the parcel but had decided to retain it. He also told members that once materials are buried, the district would need to disclose that fact to a future buyer if it sold the property.
Board members discussed whether to leave concrete slab in place and how to structure the bid documents; Taylor noted the district could run equipment in-house if contractors provided insured, bonded operators, and shared a vendor quote for heavy equipment rental of roughly $20,000 per month as a comparative figure. No final contract award was made at the meeting; the board authorized staff to proceed with sealed bids and to return to the board for selection of any award.
